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Friday, October 31, 2014

Welcome to the Halloween Blog Hop! Several amazing writers are participating this year, and I hope you'll check out their work. We'll have all sorts of goodies, including free Halloween fiction, contests and giveaways!

For my spooky contribution I've posted the beginning of my new story RESURRECTION. It's the third book in the Amsel Clan series (REMEMBER HIM and NOT HUMAN ENOUGH were 1 & 2). This is a bit of a ghost story, as someone from the past has seemingly come back to haunt the vampires. I plan on posting new chapters regularly, in addition to my Wednesday Briefs series, THE BOYS OF BELSMEADE. I hope you like the story!

GIVEAWAY
Anyone who comments on this post will be entered into the giveaway for this primitive-style pumpkin head doll (made by my mother!). PLEASE remember to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

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RESURRECTIONAmsel Clan Book Three

PROLOGUE

Frank McCall was exhausted after his trip to London. All he wanted to do was go home to his wife and feed. He hated synthetic blood. Even when Sam Gebhardt had figured out how to produce it in mass quantities, the taste didn't improve. Yes, it would get you by, and some of the younger vampires liked it with flavor blends added, but when you're four hundred years old, like Frank, you want the real deal. He smiled when he pictured his mate offering up her slender throat, but his erotic thoughts were interrupted by the pilot announcing their arrival in New York.

After customs, he pulled out his phone to call his driver. Before he dialed though, he caught the scent of another vampire somewhere near. He scanned the crowd until he spotted the other immortal across the room. When the strange vamp turned and made eye contact, Frank's blood froze and a bolt of fear rooted him to the spot. He had to be hallucinating. It couldn't be who he thought it was. He snapped a quick picture, but it was a little blurry.

The phantom looked at him and winked, then disappeared into the crowd. Frank dialed Stefan Gebhardt's number and braced himself.

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CHAPTER ONECarter

I couldn't believe that Jake and Will were getting ready for their first year of college. Greta and Kirner were in Connecticut getting Mazrin settled at her boarding school, so Freyr and I offered to help the boys move. They'd wanted to live on-campus for their freshman year at Columbia, but we convinced them that being vampires wouldn't be particularly conducive to dorm life. The decision was made to find a nice place in a good neighborhood, but my mate wasn't about to do anything half-way.

So there I was, settling with the decorators in an enormous two-bedroom penthouse. Freyr supervised the movers while Jake and Will stood on looking amused. The latter shook his head. "Not many freshmen in college would have a professionally decorated penthouse to party in."

Freyr spun around and glared. "There will be no partying in this apartment. I had to pull several strings with the co-op to get them to allow two eighteen-year olds to live here, so you two will be on your best behavior. If I hear of any parties, you'll find yourselves in a sixth-floor walk-up in Yonkers. Do I make myself clear?"

"So keggers are out?" Jake asked with a laugh.

I stepped in front of Jake before Freyr could reach him. "Babe. He was kidding."

But the kid wouldn't let up. "What about Roman orgies?"

I turned to Jake and let my eyes blaze into his. Just a little push from me had him holding his head and wincing. Freyr laughed and patted Jake on the back. "Don’t mess with the supervamp, Jake. And having friends over is fine. Just don't overdo it."

"Can you please not call me that?" I asked indignantly.

"Sorry," Freyr said. He kissed me on the cheek and turned back to the movers. One of the delivery men looked at us in disgust and said something in Spanish to his co-worker. Freyr, who is fluent in more languages than anyone I know, growled quietly. "Do you have a problem with my husband? Or me?"

"No, sir," the terrified man said.

"Good. Then get the shit off the truck, leave it in the foyer and get the fuck out. I'll move it myself."

"Yourself, sir?" the other mover said skeptically.

Freyr's eyes darkened. He gripped the edge of the brand new granite counter and broke if off as if it was a loaf of soft bread. Then he crumbled it in his hands and dropped the dust onto the floor. "Yes. I'll do it myself. Any questions?"

I've never seen a human move as fast as those two men moved. I put my hands on my hips. "Did you have to break the counter?"

Freyr pouted. "Yes. He pissed me off."

I sighed and turned to the decorator. "Is it possible to replace it?"

She looked worried. "I'm not sure if I can match the pattern to the other pieces."

"I'll pay for all new if you can't," Freyr said. He had the decency to look ashamed. "I'm really sorry."

"That's okay," she said. "I wish I had a husband who defended my honor like that. Personally, I think you guys are adorable. Well, I hope you're all happy with the way things turned out. Thanks for choosing our firm. And I'll be in touch about the granite."

********************

After we set up the rest of the furniture, we were going to take the boys food shopping, but Will and Jake were casting each other fairly lustful glances, so we decided to give them their privacy. I was just glad I'd thought to double insulate the walls for all the noise those two were going to make on their first night in their new place.

On the drive home, I took Freyr's hand and kissed it. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

I studied his profile for a few minutes before desire for my mate overcame reason. I reached over and yanked on his belt. He swerved and quickly corrected. Someone in the next lane honked, so Freyr pulled off the highway and braked hard.

"What the hell, Carter?"

His irritation only urged me on. I leaned over and nipped his ear. "I want to suck you."

"Now?" he asked incredulously. "On the side of the highway?"

"Please. Let me suck you."

A salacious smile brightened Freyr’s face and he put the seat back. I made quick work of his belt and zipper and pulled his thick cock out of his boxers. Without waiting, I wrapped my lips around the tip and sucked hard.

"Fuck," Freyr moaned. He wrapped his fingers in my hair and pulled me off. With a glint in his eye, he said, "Let me fuck your mouth."

"Yes," I hissed. I switched to a better position and hummed around his shaft. Holding my hair tightly, he thrust up with his hips while pushing down on my head. The tip of his cock slid into my throat. He was big and it was really uncomfortable, but the sounds escaping from my mate more than made up for it.

"Oh, babe… fuck… please… don't shit!"

I sat up and looked at him in bewilderment. "Don't shit? Ew!"

He didn't answer. His gaze was focused on the rearview mirror. I looked back and saw a state trooper's cruiser parked behind us, lights flashing, and an officer stalking toward us. Freyr zipped up his pants and yelled in pain when the skin of his dick got caught. He was lucky vampire's skin was much tougher than a human's, but it still must of hurt.

"Oh, honey, are you okay?" I asked.

He scowled at me, so I shut up. Freyr lowered the window and the cop's eyebrows drew down. "Do you know that you're parked in an 'Authorized Vehicles Only' area?"

He pointed to a sign right in front of us and Freyr sighed. "No sir, I didn't."

"You didn't see that huge sign right in front of you?"

"No, sir. I had… other things on my mind."

"Other things," the cop repeated.

I explained in one breath. "I told him I thought I heard something in the engine and he pulled off to see if he heard the same thing, but he didn't hear anything so then he told me that I was being paranoid so I told him that I was just worried about the car, but he insisted that I was definitely paranoid and we started fighting and—"

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs! It's flash fiction, so this story will be presented in 1000(ish)-word chapters. I hope you enjoy it, and check out the many other flashers, whose links are below. You can also check out the Wednesday Briefs Blog for more info and to sign up for email notifications.

Blake gave his captor the finger, but said nothing. Raniero shook his head. "Don't be an idiot. The council's on its way here, and you shouldn't face them while you're thirsty. It's gonna be bad enough as it is."

"Thanks for that advice," Blake said, "but I'm not taking a damn thing from you."

The two brothers looked at each other and shrugged. They remained quiet until their father joined them. "Open the door and leave us, both of you," he told his eldest son. Marco gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told. He and Raniero went up to wait with their mother at the top of the stairs.

Aristes sat across the table from Blake and scowled at him. When the young vampire wouldn't make eye contact, the clan chief sighed. "Tell me, Blake. How long have you been in love with Aramis?"

That got Blake's attention. His eyes darted to Aristes' and he went on the defensive. "I'm not in love with him. What the hell would make you think—"

Aristes raised an eyebrow. "Your pulse is racing. You're nervous."

"I'm not gay!" Blake shouted.

"You have nothing to fear from me. I have two sons who are gay. Is your father not… accepting?"

Blake scoffed. "Are you kidding me? My brother Galen announced that he was gay two Christmases ago. He disappeared that night and we've never heard from him since."

"What?" Aristes asked.

"Yeah. I assume my father killed him."

Aristes leaned over the table, mouth agape. "Do you have proof?"

Blake shrugged. "Besides the fact that Galen didn't take any clothes, phone, computer or even his car when he left? Kinda suspicious, but whatever. There's nothing anyone can do about it now."

"What does Lilliana say about your brother?"

"Mom? She doesn't say anything. She's just there to look pretty and not question my father about anything."

Aristes sighed, unsure how to continue. Galen Becker's disappearance needed to be investigated immediately. And once Becker found out that his youngest son had betrayed his secret, Blake's life was also in danger. They had to tread very carefully.

"I will not betray your secret to the council, Blake, but may I suggest that you tell them the absolute truth? Your crime carries a penalty of death, but your youth will be seen as a mitigating factor. The council may be persuaded to forgive your rash and foolish decision to frighten my son's mate away. However, if you keep anything from them, or tell lies, you will be found out, and you will die."

Blake didn't answer. He was still trying to process Mr. Ambrogi's words, "my son's mate" and it wasn't working. He cleared his throat and asked, "Aramis m-mated with Eliot?"

The chief nodded and desolation washed over Blake. It suddenly didn't matter what the council did to him. All hopes of having the one he loved were gone. He'd tell the council everything, because if the council didn't kill him, he'd find a way to do it himself.

********************

The eldest Ambrogi boys and their mother sat around the kitchen table, worried at what they had just overheard. Aurelia shook her head slowly. "That poor boy. We cannot let Becker take him back."

Marco nodded. "He'd be dead in two minutes. What're we going to do?"

"Do about what?" Epifanio asked, poking his head through the door.

Aurelia gasped. "I thought you'd left."

"Forgot to ask Dad something. Where is he?"

"Downstairs with Blake," Marco said. "Not sure if you should bother him though."

"It'll be quick," Epifanio answered, and took the cellar stairs two at a time. "Hey, dad. I forgot to ask you if—"

He stopped short at the sight of the young, red-haired vampire sitting across the table from his father. A strange sensation numbed his brain for a moment, until he could hear his father speaking to him.

"Epifanio, what do you need?"

"Er… yeah. Um. You said you'd cut me a check for the library fund last week, but I forgot, and I didn't want to…" He stumbled forward and thrust his hand out to Blake. "I'm Epp."
"Hi," Blake said quietly and shook the offered hand.

Both vampires froze, white-knuckled, and Aristes' eyebrows shot up. This didn't bode well. He cleared his throat and Epifanio released Blake's hand. The latter sank back into his chair, flexing his fingers as though he'd been shocked.

Aristes stood quickly and took his son by the arm. "May I speak with you upstairs?"

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, eyes still locked on Blake.

His father switched his grip and took him by the collar, pushing him up the stairs. Without explaining to Aurelia, he continued on to his study and threw Epifanio into a chair. The young vampire was nearly catatonic until his father swatted the back of his head.

"Your son," Aristes explained to his perplexed wife, "has just done the unthinkable."

"The unthinkable?" she asked.

"Yes. He's found himself a mate."

The stunning vampire's eyes lit up and she turned to her son. "Oh my dear, that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me? Who is it?"

"Blake Becker," Aristes replied blandly.

Aurelia blinked at her husband. "I'm sorry. Did you say—"

"Yes."

"Oh my God," she groaned. "Epifanio, please tell me this is a joke."

Epp looked at his mother and scowled. "'Fraid not."

She studied her son's face and gasped. "No, apparently not. Look at those freckles!"

"Freckles?" Epp cried. He ran across the hall to the powder room and stared in the mirror. "Oh my shit! That's what I get? Aramis gets a little patch of brown hair from Eliot and I get fucking freckles!"

Marco put an arm around his brother and smiled sympathetically. "Life is tough, little bro. And yours just got hard as cement."

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs! It's flash fiction, so this story will be presented in 1000(ish)-word chapters. I hope you enjoy it, and check out the many other flashers, whose links are below. You can also check out the Wednesday Briefs Blog for more info and to sign up for email notifications.

Aramis took my hand and led me through the French doors on the far side of the sitting room. The snow crunched under my boots, but I wasn't cold. Evidently, air temperature wasn't going to affect me as much now that I was a vampire.

Good. I fucking hate the cold.

As we walked to the pool house, I leaned against my mate's shoulder. He asked me, "Are you happy?"

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"But?"

I sighed. "I don't know. This is all so weird. My life has changed in so many ways and… I mean, I barely know you, and now I'm bound to you forever—literally, forever."

Aramis came to an abrupt halt and I fell back against him. His eyes were wild with fear. "Are you saying you don't want to be bound to me?"

"No! I mean, I definitely want you. Please, Aramis, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that we know so little about one another."

"I know your favorite band is Scissor Sisters," he said with a mischievous grin.

"How on earth would you know that?"

His expression turned guilty. "I may have visited your house a few times and watched you sleep."

I shook my head. "Yeah, they're locked to prevent people from breaking in. Why didn't you knock on the window?"

"Babe, what would you have done if I'd knocked on your third story window?"

"True. I'd probably have freaked out." I wanted to be angry with him, but the thought of him caring about me enough to watch over me made me feel cherished, wanted. "You know, it's actually kind hot that you watched me in my bedroom."

Aramis smiled. "It is?"

"Hell yeah. I mean, you could have seen me jack— Wait a minute!" One look at my nervous mate told me everything. I growled. "You did see me jacking off, didn't you?"

Before I could smack him, he threw me over his shoulder and raced to the pool house. He practically kicked the door open and tossed me onto the bed. Standing over me like a predator, he let his fangs descend. "Yes, I saw you. You don't know how hard I was, watching you get naked and crawl into bed. That tight little ass of yours and… oh Christ, your cock."

"Oh my God," I mumbled. "I want to see you."

Aramis' smile was sinful. He quickly shucked his jacket, jeans and shirt, and then teased me by slowly pushing his boxer briefs down. "It was bad enough when you wrapped your fingers around your dick and stroked yourself, but when you got out your lube…"

He nodded and crawled onto the bed. With shaking fingers, he unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them off. My briefs barely contained my dick, so Aramis pulled those off too. "You got on your hands and knees and began fucking yourself with your fingers."

"Holy fuck," I groaned. I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on the floor.

"You whispered, 'Oh Aramis, fuck me. Please, fuck me!' Holy shit, I came in my pants when you said that."

"Really?" I asked.

"I went off like a rocket. Then you flipped on your back and stroked yourself so hard and shot come all over the place. Thank God the window was locked, 'cause I would have probably broken in to lick all of the come off your chest. But that wasn't even the best part. You know what I saw next?"

I did know, and I was mortified. My voice was a high-pitched croak. "Oh shit."

He licked his lips and said, "Tell me what I saw next, Eliot."

"No!" I whined. I wasn't about to say it out loud.

Aramis took my nipple between his thumb and forefinger and twisted it gently. "Tell me."

"I can't!"

"Tell me."

I shook my head, but my resolve was slipping. He sucked the nub into his mouth and I cried out. "Ah! I cleaned the come off my chest with my fingers. Yes, Aramis! Oh fuck yes."

Still sucking my nipple, Aramis reached down to finger my hole. Very slowly he slid a finger in, stretching me. "And then what did you do?"

A second finger was added and he tapped my prostate. The pleasure was too much. My body went rigid and I suddenly didn’t care about being embarrassed. I wound my fingers into his hair and groaned. "I… I licked my fingers and ate my come."

"So fucking hot," Aramis whispered. "You want me to fuck you, baby?"

I scurried up onto my hands and knees. "Yes. Now. Hard."

"You asked for it." He slammed into me and we both cried out. I looked into his eyes and saw the hunger there, so I turned my head to the side and offered my throat. Aramis growled quietly before sinking his fangs into me.

********************

In a concrete cell attached to the Ambrogi's wine cellar, Blake Becker paced restlessly. He stood accused of breaking one of the Coven's most strict rules: never reveal the existence of vampires to humans. It was an offense punishable by death, and he was terrified.

He never thought sending the human to the club would be that big a deal. All he wanted to do was to scare Eliot away, to get rid of him. If only he could do that, Blake could finally have Aramis for himself.